Your idea and/or comment(s) may be removed from Budget Talks or not proceed to public voting if it violates our terms of use or suggests the Ontario government act in a way that goes against our policies.

How successful ideas will be funded

The Government of Ontario has committed up to $5 million to fund up to 5 ideas that help us solve problems in five key areas. The public will vote on the ideas they would most like to see implemented. The final funded ideas could receive a one-time investment of no more than $1 million. For example in the 2017 Budget 3 ideas submitted from Budget Talks were funded up to $2.6 million. Last year’s Budget Talks shows our progressOpens in a new window.

The Government of Ontario will determine how the final ideas are funded. This means we will not fund any individual, group, organization, and/or business referenced in the original idea submission.

How ideas will be implemented

The Government of Ontario will determine how ideas are implemented; which may not be as described in your original idea submission.

We do not and will not endorse any organization, technology, location or other content in your idea submission, and we may or may not implement the idea or use the organization, technology or location referenced in the original submission when implementing the idea.

Types of ideas that you can propose

Make sure your idea falls under one of five actions:

A new fund

The Government of Ontario provides funding through open competitive grants. This means individuals and/or organizations must submit proposals that meet specific criteria, for review and approval, before they can receive funds. For example, Ontario’s granting fundsOpens in a new window pay for projects to:

build local cycling infrastructure

fight human trafficking

upgrade equipment in public libraries

If you’re proposing a new fund, your idea should explain how to create a granting fund to support one-time projects in a specific area. If your idea receives the most votes, we will create and determine how the fund is administered and fund projects that meet the criteria.

Pilot

Pilots are a way of running a small scale test, experiment or trial to learn about an issue or approach, and see whether an idea works or not. Examples include the HOT lanesOpens in a new window and Basic IncomeOpens in a new window pilots. We can task our own experts, which include researchers, public policy experts, scientists or outside advisors to launch a pilot and release the results to the public.

Study

If there’s an issue you’d like us to investigate and publicly report on, then consider proposing a study. We can task our own experts, which include scientists, economists, statisticians, public policy experts, or outside advisors to look into the issue and publicly release the results.

Events

Events could involve holding a public meeting to discuss an issue, a conference, festival or celebration, or a commemoration of an important event or date. For example, you could submit a proposal to fund farmers’ markets and local food events across the province to promote healthy food choices.

What to include in your submission

When you submit your idea on Budget Talks, it’s important that you tell us how your idea would work and which problem your idea might solve.

You don’t have to be an expert to come up with a good idea. People with lived experience of a problem often have valuable insights into that problem’s effects and how it might be addressed. If you are comfortable, we encourage you to include this type of detail.

Your idea should include:

What your project idea is, including:

how your idea would work

who needs to be involved

when and where it should happen

How your idea will solve the problem:

what is the problem?

tell us about your and others’ lived experience of the problem

Other important information or research, including:

links to background material that others can use to better understand your idea

evidence for your idea and its effectiveness

examples of similar initiatives in other places

Guidelines and submission policy

Our policy on abusive submissions

While we invite and welcome discussion and debate, please note that your idea and/or comment(s) may be removed from the Budget Talks platform or not proceed to public voting if it suggests the Ontario government act in a way that:

results in discrimination on the basis of gender, race, religion, creed, national origin, disability, handicap, age, sexual orientation, or any other basis prohibited by law

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The Ministry of Finance performs a variety of roles, all focused on supporting a strong economic, fiscal and investment climate for Ontario, while ensuring accountability with respect to the use of public funds.